This Feb. 26, 2012 photo released by the Florida State Attorney's Office shows the scene where neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin. The photo and reports were among evidence released by prosecutors that also includes calls to police, video and numerous other documents. (AP Photo/State Attorney's Office)

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Nicholas Wishek: Letter writer Thomas Fertal [“Martin stood his ground,” Letters, May 21] exemplifies a serious problem we face in this country. Too many people rush to judgment before the facts are known. In writing about the Martin shooting in Florida, Fertal has obviously determined George Zimmerman’s guilt. And, he may well be guilty. But to assume facts not in evidence, as Fertal does, undermines the whole concept of innocent until proven guilty. You would think that the example of the Duke Rape Case in 2006 would serve as a warning about the dangers of jumping to conclusions.

For example, Fertal has made several assumptions in his letter that have not been proven, all of which can be countered by those who side with Mr. Zimmerman. For starters, he says, “He [Zimmerman] also probably initiated contact with Martin.” Maybe. Zimmerman, however, claims Martin came up to him and threw the first punch. Fertal then writes, “Martin, being only 17 years old, probably felt threatened by this larger and older adult.” Again, possible, we don’t know. Zimmerman, though, stands 5’9” while Martin was 6’2” or more. And certainly, all 17 year olds are not easily intimidated. There also is the phone record of Martin telling his girlfriend, “I’m not going to run.”

Sad to say, Fertal was much less judgmental than some members of Congress who have called Zimmerman a murderer who shot Trevor Martin down like a dog, but no one should form any conclusions without hearing both sides of the story and examining all the evidence available. The goal should be justice for everyone.

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FULLERTON, D.Q. Rosenow: Anyone lately emerged from coma or cave, if shown Thomas Fertal’s version of the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman encounter, would see that event as “David vs. Goliath: The Sequel.” The trouble is that Fertal casts Trayvon as David. Sorry, but facts are stubborn things. The Tale of the Tape shows Trayvon, at 6’2”, towering over George at 5’8”. Moreover, Trayvon (“being only 17 years old”) had clinically and clearly attained physical maturity. While Mr. Fertal repeatedly cites George as “larger and older;” the former is patently and plainly untrue, and the latter (though accurate) was likely unknown to Trayvon, as the event transpired well after nightfall. Besides, a young man in his physical prime ought not be presumed to be intimidated by an opponent 10, 30, or 50 years his elder, unless they are about to debate, not tussle.

Let’s argue the facts as they are, not as Fertal’s flair for fantasy would wish them to be.

In a 2007 study by the American Chemical Society, researchers found evidence that HFCS contained high amounts of reactive compounds that could cause diabetes. The researchers also discovered a link between those who drink HFCS-sweetened soda and increased risk of diabetes. Dr. Miller, in damning lawyers, also neglects to provide the true meaning of his quote from Shakespeare: “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.”

Dr. Miller takes this quote entirely out of context. The truth is, that Dick the Butcher, who uttered that line in King Henry VI, Part 2, Act 4, Scene 2, sought to overthrow legitimate government so that tyranny might reign. In order to accomplish that end, he urged that “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” Jack Cade, the character who readily agrees with the Butcher’s idea, is a revolutionary and megalomaniac who plans, after killing off the lawyers, to kill off everyone else who can read and write, hoping to then serve an absolute ruler, and to create a world in which people depend on the state for economic existence, dress alike, and say and think the same things.

In closing, I offer another Shakespearean quote: In Hamlet, Act 5, scene 1, the Queen scatters flowers uttering “Sweets to the sweet, farewell!” She is not offering candy to her listener. Rather, the Queen’s “sweets” are funeral bouquets scattered in the grave of Ophelia, Hamlet’s former love. In the case of HFCS, “Sweets to the sweet” may in fact result in funeral bouquets for deaths by diabetes. All sweets are not the same.

Gay marriage: people care

COSTA MESA, Terry Rather: Letter-writer, Hugh McGlynn said in his article, “Hype over minor issues,” that Google states the gay and lesbian population affects only 1.7 percent of our population, and we first must address the needs of the 98.3 percent of this nation that have really critical problems that need to be solved. In actuality, the issue is that Google also reports that 37 percent of voters believe in gay relationships. That percentage, added to those that will vote for Obama regardless if they believe in what he stands for, now makes a majority. Interesting how numbers can often be misleading.

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